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Spurgeon's Morning & Evening Devotions
Morning, March 21
"On him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus." - Luke 23:26
We see in Simon's carrying the cross a picture of the work of the Church
throughout all generations; she is the cross-bearer after Jesus. Mark then,
Christian, Jesus does not suffer so as to exclude your suffering. He bears a
cross, not that you may escape it, but that you may endure it.
Christ exempts you from sin, but not from sorrow. Remember that, and expect to
suffer.
But let us comfort ourselves with this thought, that in our case, as in
Simon's, it is not our cross, but Christ's cross which we carry. When you are
molested for your piety; when your religion brings the trial of cruel mockings
upon you, then remember it is not your cross, it is Christ's cross; and how
delightful is it to carry the cross of our Lord Jesus!
You carry the cross after him. You have blessed company; your path is marked
with the footprints of your Lord. The mark of his blood-red shoulder is upon
that heavy burden.
'Tis his cross, and he goes before you as a shepherd goes before his sheep.
Take up your cross daily, and follow him.
Do not forget, also, that you bear this cross in partnership. It is the opinion
of some that Simon only carried one end of the cross, and not the whole of it.
That is very possible; Christ may have carried the heavier part, against the
transverse beam, and Simon may have borne the lighter end. Certainly it is so
with you; you do but carry the light end of the cross, Christ bore the heavier
end.
And remember, though Simon had to bear the cross for a very little while, it
gave him lasting honour. Even so the cross we carry is only for a little while
at most, and then we shall
receive the crown, the glory. Surely we should love the cross, and, instead of
shrinking from it, count it very dear, when it works out for us "a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of
glory. "
Evening, March 21
"Before honour is humility." - Proverbs 15:33
Humiliation of soul always brings a positive blessing with it. If we empty our
hearts of self God will fill them with his love. He who desires close communion
with Christ should remember the word of the Lord, "To this man will I look,
even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word."
Stoop if you would climb to heaven. Do we not say of Jesus, "He descended that
he might ascend?" so must you. You must grow downwards, that you may grow
upwards; for the sweetest fellowship with heaven is to be had by humble souls,
and by them alone.
God will deny no blessing to a thoroughly humbled spirit. "Blessed are the poor
in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," with all its riches and
treasures. The whole exchequer
of God shall be made over by deed of gift to the soul which is humble enough to
be able to receive it without growing proud because of it.
God blesses us all up to the full measure and extremity of what it is safe for
him to do. If you do not get a blessing, it is because it is not safe for you
to have one. If our heavenly Father were to let your unhumbled spirit win a
victory in his holy war, you would pilfer the crown for yourself, and meeting
with a fresh enemy you would fall a victim; so that you are kept
low for your own safety.
When a man is sincerely humble, and never ventures to touch so much as a grain
of the praise, there is scarcely any limit to what God will do for him.
Humility makes us ready to be blessed by the God of all grace, and fits us to
deal efficiently with our fellow men. True humility is a flower which will
adorn any garden.
This is a sauce with which you may season every dish of life, and you will find
an improvement in every case. Whether it be prayer or praise, whether it be
work or suffering, the genuine salt of humility cannot be used in excess.
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Daily devotions for 03-17-2005:
Devotion: Morning and Evening
Morning Title: A Stranger With Thee
Evening Title: The Verge of a Fall
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Morning: A Stranger With Thee
"I am a stranger with thee." --Psalm 39:12
Yes, O Lord, with Thee, but not to Thee. All my natural alienation from Thee,
Thy grace has
effectually removed; and now, in fellowship with Thyself, I walk through this
sinful world as a
pilgrim in a foreign country. Thou art a stranger in Thine own world. Man
forgets Thee, dishonours Thee, sets up new laws and alien customs, and knows
Thee not. When Thy dear Son came unto His own, His own received Him not. He was
in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. Never
was foreigner so speckled a bird among the denizens of any land as Thy beloved
Son among His mother's brethren. It is no marvel, then, if I who live the life
of Jesus, should be unknown and a stranger here below.
Lord, I would not be a citizen where Jesus was an alien. His pierced hand has
loosened the cords which once bound my soul to earth, and now I find myself a
stranger in the land. My speech seems to these Babylonians among whom I dwell
an outlandish tongue, my manners are singular, and my actions are strange. A
Tartar would be more at home in Cheapside than I could ever be in the haunts of
sinners. But here is the sweetness of my lot: I am a stranger with Thee. Thou
art my fellow-sufferer, my fellow-pilgrim. Oh, what joy to wander in such
blessed society! My heart burns within me by the way when thou dost speak to
me, and though I be a sojourner, I am far more blest than those who sit on
thrones, and far more at home than those who dwell in their ceiled houses.
"To me remains nor place, nor time:
My country is in every clime;
I can be calm and free from care
On any shore, since God is there.
While place we seek, or place we shun,
The soul finds happiness in none:
But with a God to guide our way,
'Tis equal joy to go or stay."
Evening: The Verge of a Fall
"Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous sins." --Psalm 19:13
Such was the prayer of the "man after God's own heart." Did holy David need to
pray thus? How needful, then, must such a prayer be for us babes in grace! It
is as if he said, "Keep me back, or I shall rush headlong over the precipice of
sin."
Our evil nature, like an ill-tempered horse, is apt to run away. May the grace
of God put the bridle upon it, and hold it in, that it rush not into mischief.
What might not the best of us do
if it were not for the checks which the Lord sets upon us both in providence
and in grace! The
psalmist's prayer is directed against the worst form of sin--that which is done
with deliberation
and wilfulness. Even the holiest need to be "kept back" from the vilest
transgressions. It is a
solemn thing to find the apostle Paul warning saints against the most loathsome
sins. "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication,
uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which
is idolatry." What! do saints want warning against such sins as these? Yes,
they do. The whitest robes, unless their purity be preserved by divine grace,
will be defiled by the blackest spots.
Experienced Christian, boast not in your experience; you will trip yet if you
look away
from Him who is able to keep you from falling. Ye whose love is fervent, whose
faith is constant, whose hopes are bright, say not, "We shall never sin," but
rather cry, "Lead us not into temptation." There is enough tinder in the heart
of the best of men to light a fire that shall
burn to the lowest hell, unless God shall quench the sparks as they fall. Who
would have dreamed that righteous Lot could be found drunken, and committing
uncleanness? Hazael said, "Is Thy servant a dog, that he should do this thing?"
and we are very apt to use the same self-righteous question. May infinite
wisdom cure us of the madness of self-confidence.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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